


Autonomic Cardiac Responses to Aural Stimuli

by PepperF



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, much more cheerful than the previous one, sappiness ensues, yet more songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 19:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7904392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepperF/pseuds/PepperF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five songs that make Jeff think of Annie, and one they share.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Autonomic Cardiac Responses to Aural Stimuli

**Author's Note:**

> This came out of an idea Bethany had about Jeff listening to cheesy rock power ballads and thinking of Annie, which was SUCH an hilarious mental image that it just had to be written. :D
> 
> Thanks again for beta'ing this, Bethany!

**1: everyone else in the room can see it**

Like so many teenagers with a crush, Jeff went through the phase where every song on the radio reminded him of his love—every lyric was tailored to his situation, every song was a paean to his feelings, every chorus was a chant to his beloved. He grew out of it, of course, and realized that most love songs were incredibly generic, a hook to catch the emotionally-compromised. He saw through the con, and swore he'd never fall for it again.

He listens to the radio on the drive to and from Greendale (more and more these days it feels like research into what young people are talking about). On his journey home today, it burbles something about blue eyes, which of course makes him think of Annie, who has the biggest, bluest eyes he's ever seen. She looked really cute today. There's something about Annie in teal that's like catnip to him; he has the hardest time not asking if he can carry her books, or be his date to the next school dance—or if she'll meet him in the nearest storage closet. 

When the next song starts going on about some girl being irresistible, it's like they're reading his mind. It's not until the third song that he eyes the radio suspiciously for a moment. _The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_ , chants the singer, who sounds like he's jumping up and down in sheer excitement. And sure, Annie does do the most amazing hair-flips, like something out of a shampoo commercial, but all the same, it's weird that all these songs seem to be about her. Has someone (his money's on Abed) figured out what station he listens to, and called in a playlist somehow, to mess with him?

And then—because Jeff is more in touch with the inner workings of his heart than he's prepared to admit—he catches on to what's happening. He groans, and at the next set of traffic lights he thumps his head against the steering wheel briefly, trying to smack the thoughts out of his head. 

He really thought he'd be past all this crap by now.

\---

**2: whenever she flashed those baby-blues**

He's not sure what prompts Annie to wear a pair of sky-high heels to school one day, but _hot damn._ In common with probably half the men in the Western hemisphere, heels are a big turn on for Jeff. And then there's the height factor: anything that brings women up closer to him is definitely a plus. But Annie has a tendency to scurry along in her normal flats, so if he'd ever pictured her in high heels (and no one can prove that he has), he might have imagined there'd be a certain amount of tripping involved. 

But no, apparently Annie can carry off a pair of stilettos with style and confidence. And in combination with that skirt, they make her legs look like they go on _forever_. He tries to work out where she'd reach on him, now. The top of her head would be level with his nose, maybe? If he took off his own shoes, it might almost be workable...

"Dude," says Troy, poking him in the shoulder. Jeff shuts his mouth with a snap, and shoots Troy a glare, but the younger man doesn't notice, too busy staring across the quad at Annie. "Annie's got _legs_."

"I know," says Jeff, irritably. If he has any thoughts about the fact that Troy never even noticed Annie's hotness until he, Jeff, pointed it out, he keeps them to himself.

" _Dude._ "

Jeff grits his teeth and ignores him.

It's harder to ignore Starburns, though, when he stops beside them to see what they're looking at, and then gives a slow whistle. "'Does she walk, does she talk, does she come complete', am I right?" he says, nudging Jeff.

It wouldn't be fair to punch Starburns for articulating Jeff's thoughts in his own particularly sleazy way. But oh, the temptation is strong.

"Because, you know, it's like that song, where the chick that the guy knew in school suddenly turns out to be, like, totally a Playboy model or whatever?" says Starburns, who's apparently cruising for a bruising. "Man, I'd love to see her portfolio, if you know what I mean."

"Don't talk about Annie like that," says Jeff. "And stop drooling over her, it's disgusting. You're old enough to be her father."

"Yeah? Well, before you start getting all judgmental about other people, you might want to do some self-examination about the healthiness of your attachment to a woman who's allegedly just a good friend, and whether or not your behavior is creating expectations that you're too chickenshit to fulfill, while simultaneously driving off anyone who might be interested in actually dating her. Got a little drool there yourself, Winger," says Starburns, and walks off.

"Yeah, well," says Jeff. And just then, Annie glances around, as though she can feel the weight of his stare from across the quad. She gives him a smile. "Suck it, Starburns," he mutters, lamely.

\---

**3: left without a kiss**

"Ooh, ooh, I love this song!" says Annie, waving hard at the non-existent hordes who are leaping to turn it off. Jeff doesn't care, so long as it's not fucking _Roxanne_. Seriously, that song is so uncool.

This one is tinkly and not unpleasant, although the singer is overdoing the vocal fry thing. Annie hums along happily, swaying to the music.

"He got stuck at the laundromat, washing his cape," she warbles. Her eyes meet his, and she smiles brightly, and it's a light, happy moment. There's absolutely no reason to be nervous. 

He always thought he'd like to be hero-worshipped, but the gleam in Annie's eyes is making him sweat. Is that how she thinks of him—as her absentee hero, late on his way to sweep her off her feet and fly her to the stars? Because she's in for a disappointment when she realizes that beneath the undoubtedly handsome exterior, he's an ordinary, scared, lost, self-deluding, and decidedly _un_ heroic man. 

He could see her as Lois Lane, though: focused career woman, brave investigative journalist, intelligent and romantic and driven. What she deserves is someone worthy of those idealistic dreams, her very own Superman. And she'll find him someday, Jeff's pretty sure—so long as she doesn't get sidetracked along the way by Tony Stark. No one wants to read that comic.

But she smiles at him, and there must be a short in the arc reactor that sits where his heart ought to be, because it sends an electric shiver through his body.

\---

**4: put your tiny hand in mine**

He's over the _Faith_ incident. He had his five minutes of humiliation, and then Greendale forgot, and he moved on. He's mostly just left with a feeling of admiration for how ruthless Annie can be. She'd make an outstanding politician, or lawyer—or Mob hitman. So when Britta buys him George Michael's greatest hits on on CD (because she's living in the last century, and because she found it in the bargain bin at Walgreens), he takes it in good spirit. After all, once upon a time, he owned all these songs on cassette, and they bring back fond memories. 

He throws it in his car, which is where the only CD player he owns now is, and puts it on when he's hiding out there one day at lunchtime. He taps along to _Faith_ , wondering what Annie would have made of twenty-something Jeff, and whether he would've been able to see past his overweening ego at that age to realize what an amazing person she is. 

"You gotta have Jeff, Jeff, Jeff," he sings quietly, grinning to himself.

Then the next song comes on, and it's _Father Figure_ , and the smile disappears. He sticks it out for a few bars, drumming his fingers hard on the steering wheel, but when it gets to the chorus, he grimaces and stabs quickly at the stop button. George Michael is overrated, anyway.

On the way to class, he drops the CD into the nearest trashcan. 

\---

**5: I close my eyes and see you before me**

He's waiting for Troy and Abed (who are taking their sweet goddamn time) on the couch in apartment 303 when Annie—who has been loudly blasting pop music in her room—emerges. She's wearing a scruffy terrycloth robe and is obviously headed for the bathroom. But the moment she spots him, she stops dead, and gives him an inexplicably deer-in-the-headlights kind of look.

"Oh! Jeff! I—I didn't know you were here!" 

It's an overreaction, and his interest is automatically piqued; in court, that would have been a giant 'PURSUE THIS LINE OF QUESTIONING' signal. And then she flushes bright red.

There's nothing inappropriate about her outfit—it covers considerably more than what she normally wears to school—so it's not that. But what else would she... 

His brain flashes back to the music. Britney. Elvis. Lana Del Rey. Prince. The thought rises, unbidden: _that was a getting-it-on soundtrack_.

He can't help it. He loses all control over his expression, and his eyebrows shoot up towards his hairline. He glances toward her room, and then back at Annie. In confirmation, her flush deepens to an impressive crimson. She squeaks and high-tails it back into her room, the door slamming shut behind her.

Well. 

Things are awkward between them for the next few days. Annie can barely talk to him without blushing, and it's simultaneously adorable and tempting as hell—and also worrying. If she keeps doing that, people are going to think there's something going on. He proposes a trip to the local karaoke bar in the (reasonable) hope that someone else in the group will embarrass themselves sufficiently for her to forget about it.

And then she does an unexpected, sexy, defiant rendition of the Divinyls’ classic, _I Touch Myself_ that gets the whole place rocking, and the tables are so completely turned that he can't look her in the eye for a week.

\---

**6: my love is like a storybook story**

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he mutters against her hair, when he finally recognizes the tune. "Is this—?"

Annie buries her face in his lapel. "I told you I'd thought of the perfect song for our first dance," she says, and although it's muffled, he can hear the laughter in her voice.

"You don't think Día de los Muertos music is kind of inappropriate for today?"

"Not at all. We just swore until death us do part," she counters. And, well, she does have a point. "And look at it this way: I could have chosen that song from _The Princess Bride_."

"Shh!" He glances around quickly. "You promised you'd keep that to yourself!"

She leans her head back. When she smiles up at him like that, eyes brighter than the pearls that glint like stars in her dark hair, he feels all the things that drove him to make a fool of himself six months ago, when they sat down to watch her favorite movie—back when marrying her was just a persistent idea in his head.

"I hate to spoil the notion that you manage to look completely cool and unemotional at all times," she says. Then she gives a sideways glance to all their guests, and leans closer to whisper, "But I think they might have guessed that you're completely in love with me."

He smirks down at her, and yes, it's probably written all over his face, but he's finding it harder and harder to care. "Yeah, well, you married me, so who looks dumb now?"

Her smile softens, and she leans her cheek back against his chest. "Then I guess we're both going to have to resign ourselves to looking like big, dumb, idiots in love," she says, sighing happily. 

He wraps his arms more closely around her, and they sway together—although whether or not it's in time to the music, he hasn't the faintest idea.

**Author's Note:**

> The songs:
> 
> 1- What Makes You Beautiful- One Direction  
> 2- Centerfold - J Geils Band  
> 3- Waiting For Superman - Daughtry  
> 4- Faith / Father Figure - George Michael  
> 5- I Touch Myself - Divinyls  
> 6- unnamed tune from Intro to Statistics, and also Storybook Love by Mark Knopfler


End file.
